


Girls Like Girls

by PowerOverDrive



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Angst, F/F, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29966949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PowerOverDrive/pseuds/PowerOverDrive
Summary: He was a good guy. Great even, tall, broad shoulders, good looking, charismatic, sweet, he was as close to perfect as you could get. And that's why Riley hated him, every ounce of attention Maya had was focused on her boyfriend. Riley has always had a thing for Maya, but Maya had a boyfriend, and Riley was stuck head over heels for her best friend.
Relationships: Lucas Friar/Maya Hart, Maya Hart/Riley Matthews
Kudos: 5





	1. E N V Y

Beautiful. That's the first word Riley would describe Maya as, beautiful, inside and out, Riley could just soak in the warmth and beauty of Maya everyday if possible. Maya was sweet, caring, sensitive, sincere, creative, ambitious, and everything in between. Riley could honestly go on for days telling you about how much she loved Maya. Farkle has had to hear it before, on more than one occasion too might I inform you.

There was just one problem, almost a year long problem, a five foot nine, brown haired, green eyed problem to be exact. Lucas Friar. They were great friends before, Riley and Lucas were inseparable at the beginning of their friendship, so much alike, so much in common, they got along so well, some would even say they'd make a cute couple, but Riley wasn't one of them. Maybe it was because they were so much alike that it was a problem, they had the same....interests....and tastes. Somewhere down the line, Lucas got a crush on Maya, and he told Riley right from the start.

Truth be told, Riley was furious about it and wanted to run him into the ground, but at the same time, it wasn't his fault, he didn't know, and he couldn't control it. So when he kissed Maya at the winter formal, and she kissed him back, Riley couldn't do anything, because even though they might've seemed one in the same, they weren't. Lucas acted on his feelings, Riley didn't, Lucas was a boy, Riley wasn't.

She didn't mean to resent him, honestly, they had been great friends before, and even though Maya and Lucas were dating now, Lucas didn't treat the girls a whole lot different. Lucas still hugged Riley, even if she didn't do it back, he still told her about his day, and urged her to do the same, but Riley really only seemed to talk back when Maya was around, and even then, it seemed like it was forced out of her. He missed her, he really did, he missed happy and bubbly Riley, but he didn't know how to get her back. One day they were talking in her bedroom as friends, the next she was walking home alone and sitting at different lunch tables.

Maya and Farkle were always the ones to rope her back in again though, Smackle referred to it more than once as "keeping a tight leash on her." Riley didn't know how to put in words that she just wasn't interested in being around anymore, she liked distancing herself from it, it calmed her down, made the pain a little less...overwhelming.

"Please, Riley, it's just this afternoon, why can't you come with us?" Maya whined flopping down Riley's bed beside her. Maybe if it were Lucas or Zay, she would've shoved them off the bed and let them fall on the floor, but it was her peaches, and she couldn't do that.

"I already told you, I'm busy," Riley answered flatly.

"With what? It's the summer time, you already got your early admission NYU, we're about to head into our Senior Year with like, five classes max, what could you possibly be doing that's more important than spending time with me?" She asks. Nothing. Nothing will ever be more important than you, and it hurts knowing that I'm lying, I'm lying and I hate myself for doing it.

"I have to babysit Auggy," Riley answers. She's yet to take her eyes off of her laptop and that's what's about to make Maya blow a fuse.

"He's old enough to watch himself! You're not even watching him right now!" Maya yells, Riley remains silent and instead of Maya giving up and storming away like Riley wants, she stays and slams the laptop closed. "Pay attention to me!" She whines, Riley huffs and glares at her.

"What part of busy do you not understand?" Maya frowns and grows even more upset, Riley never speaks to her like this and it's getting to her more than ever, she gets up from the bed and looks down at her.

"Why are you being like this? You're never....never-"

"Never what?" Riley asked bluntly.

"Never this rude. You never wanna hang out with Zay or Smackle anymore, you haven't texted Lucas back in like a year," There he goes again. "And...you don't even ever wanna spend time with me." That's a bold statement coming from you. "You only ever hang out with Farkle, I don't get it, where'd we go wrong?" Maya seems hurt, devastated almost, like it's killing her, and all Riley wants to do is jump up from the bed and hold her. Hold her, kiss her, love her, and say all the things she's dying to say, but she can't. She's afraid, she's afraid and isn't willing to put herself at risk like that. So rather than getting an answer, Riley stares at her for a moment before turning back to her laptop and attempting to open it. How would I even answer that?

"RILEY!" She screams, she jumps on her and pins her down on the bed. "Look at me when I talk to you." She demands, Maya was angry, hurt, and over this behavior coming from her best friend. Riley's breathe hitched and she froze, does she shove her off and win? Or does she give both herself and Maya false hope? "Tomorrow, my house at 4 PM, me, you, and Lucas, we're gonna go swimming, and you're gonna be there, on time, having fun, do you understand me?" She asks, Riley still seems shocked and frozen, but she's afraid of what's gonna happen if she says no. Maya's grown from the tough, too good for love person, she was back in middle school, she was gentler and kinder, but something Riley must've done pushed Maya over the edge and reverted back to her old self. She nods in agreement and Maya let's her go, she however still remains on her lap. "Don't be late, or else I'll come down here again and drag you out myself." She warns, she jumps off Riley's lap and leaves the room through the door this time. What did I get myself into?


	2. B L I S S

Why am I doing this? Riley was staring at herself in the mirror, all dressed up and ready to go, she was going to go hang out with Maya and Lucas. And she hated herself for it, she let herself be pulled back into this mess by Maya. She wanted no part in it, she didn't want to hurt anymore, she wanted to be free of this pain. But it was Maya that was asking, and Riley had no choice to go along with it. Riley's eyes teared up and she heavily sighed, I don't want to go.

Riley stepped back and grabbed her backpack, leaving the room, she said a quick goodbye to her mom that was in the kitchen and made her way out to Maya's new house. She'd been over a few times, mostly because her dad dragged her there so he could see Shawn. By that time Maya was already dating Lucas so Riley tuned out most of the visit, there was a vague memory in her head of what it looked liked. In Riley's personal opinion, she liked the apartment better, the apartment where they made messes in the kitchen, screamed and played around in the living room, practiced makeup in the bathroom and told secrets in the bedroom. That was always Riley's favorite part, despite what young Maya acted like in public, she loved being held and cuddled up beside Riley at home. But then Maya got a boyfriend, Riley stopped sleeping over, and every time Maya tried to hug her it didn't feel the same, because they weren't only for her now. They held Lucas, frequently, and opposed to what she had been taught at a young age, Riley wasn't one for sharing.

Riley was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't even notice she had already turned onto the street of Maya's house, I should just turn back, I can turn around and go home, or see Farkle, I can't be here. But it was too late, a car had parked and somebody stepped out, it was Lucas. He turned around and saw her, he had a huge smile on his face and waved happily to her. "Riley!" He yelled, "Over here!" Son a bitch.

Riley put on a fake smile and waved back walking towards the house, "It's so good to see you, I feel like it's been forever," he greets happily. He steps forward and hugs her, Riley froze not knowing what to do. Get off, get off, please get away from me. Sensing something was wrong, he let go and stepped back, "Could you help me bring this stuff in?" He asks gesturing to the car, there were bags filled with soda, snacks, and other foods.

"What's all this?" Riley asks grabbing bags, Lucas opened the front door and she followed him inside. 

"Maya wants to throw....I guess not a party, but she wants us all to hang out sometime next week," He answers, he sets the bags down on the table and slowly looks at Riley. "Maya wants you to come Riley." She stops and glances at Lucas, before dropping the bags.

"I'll think about it," Is all she has to say before walking back outside and grabbing the rest of the bags. Once they're inside with the bags on the table, Lucas smiles at her and leads her to the staircase. 

"Maya and I can put this stuff away later, but for right now....hey Maya guess who's here to see you!" He yells, Riley hears a door open and speedy footsteps coming down the stairs. 

"Riley!" She yells excitedly, Riley looks up and smiles at her. Play nice.

"Peaches!" She yells, Maya practically jumps into her arms and they hug each other tightly, Maya cups her face and has the brightest smile that Riley's ever seen.

"You made it!" She exclaims hugging her again, Riley felt weak in the knees and never wanted to let go of her. All too soon, Riley feels Maya being pulled away from her, and of course it's Lucas who's behind Maya.

"Are you gonna tell her about next week?" Lucas asks, he puts a firm hold around Maya's waist and it makes Riley want to tear him apart.

"Oh yeah! I'm inviting everyone over to come and hang out, you need to be there!" Maya tells her, she grabs onto Riley's hands and pleads. "Please, please, please."

"I- I uh, I'll see if I can," Riley answers, Maya sighs and steps away from Lucas. 

"Can you go make sure the pool's clean, Riley and I are gonna go change," Maya says, Lucas nods and walks outside, Maya grabs Riley's hand and pulls her upstairs. They go inside her room and Riley sets her backpack down near the vanity. "I'm so happy you made it!" I'm not. "Now that it's summer, I'm here all day by myself, you're always with Farkle and Smackle, and Lucas is always with Zay. It's been too long Riley." For some odd reason, Maya seems to forget that she was the one who threatened Riley and told her to come, because had it been up to Riley, she would've never come over. 

"I guess it has," She responds, Maya goes to her closet and pulls out her bathing suit. It wouldn't be the first time they had gotten dressed in front of each other, but Riley didn't feel like it was right anymore. She felt like it was wrong for her to be in here, Maya undressing in front of her without any realization of what was happening in her head. Riley pulled off her top and proceeded to grab her bathing suit from her bag. She quickly changed from the bra to the bikini top and as she was zipping the front, she couldn't help but see Maya in the mirror. Her bare back, smooth white skin exposed, Riley looked down in shame and pulled down her shorts, getting the rest of the bathing suit on. As she was pulling her hair up, she didn't notice herself staring at the reflection of Maya, but Maya had caught her eye.

"Riley?" She asks softly, Riley froze and her throat tightened.

"Hmm?"

"Can you tie a knot please?" She asks, Riley grows relieved and nods stepping away from the mirror. She grabs the strings, fingertips scarcely touching her back, and ties the knot before stepping away. "How do I look?" Maya turns around and Riley can clearly tell the difference between the two girls. Riley had a zip up top that reached her collarbones, and high waisted bottoms. Maya on the other hand had one of those bikinis that you see in the magazine, that are made for models, the thin material, and smaller coverage.

"Perfect." She answers, Maya smiled back and grabbed her hand walking her down the stairs.

"Well don't you two look like a pair of dolls?" Lucas asks.

"Ooh, I think Ranger Rick has made his grand return," Maya teases. Riley remains quiet as the three walk outside into the warm sun, suddenly Riley had the brightest idea. There's no way I'll get in trouble for this. She suddenly steps to Lucas and with everything she had pushed him as hard as she could into the pool. For the first time, in a long time, Riley let out a laugh, she felt happy, and when Lucas came back to surface, he was laughing too. 

"You brat!" He yells laughing. "I got water in my nose!" Before Riley could respond, Maya gets a running start. 

"Catch me!" She yells, she just barely jumps on Riley and they fall back into pool. The trio were laughing harder than before and for a split second there. Riley forgot that they were together, Riley forgot that she was in pain and in love with Maya, and in that moment, they were all just friends, in peace.

This feeling actually lasted for quite a while, Riley got a piggyback ride from Lucas in the water. Riley and Maya were doing cartwheels into the pool, Lucas and Riley wrestled in the deep end because their feet could actually touch the bottom, and it was fine until Maya went underneath the water. She came back up and sprayed water from her mouth into Riley's face. As disgusting as it was, it snapped Riley back into reality, when Maya looked at her like that, it didn't wipe away all her worries, it brought them back. Riley stilled for a moment but suddenly a huge splash of water hit them as Lucas cannon-balled into the ball. 

Riley felt everything closing in on her as the water ran down her face, she slowly started to panic and swam away to the stairs of the pool, the smile dropped from Maya's face and she glared at Lucas. Lucas still had the smile on his face until he saw Maya, "What?"

.....

Swimming ultimately was a bust at the end, but at the very least they still had an okay time together. Riley and Maya were drying off on the lawn chairs when Lucas came out with his bag.

"Hey, I have to head home early, did you want me to give you a ride home Riley?" He asks.

"Uh-" Before Riley could answer, Maya put her hand down on Riley's knee.

"You don't need to do that, Riley's sleeping over," Maya answers, Lucas seems surprised and so does Riley, she didn't agree to this, and wasn't even told about it.

"Really?" He asks.

"Yeah, remember Riley? We talked about it yesterday, her clothes are in her bag upstairs," Maya lies, Lucas looks to Riley and suddenly Riley had a choice for once. She could either call Maya out and finally go home, or go along with what Maya said, and officially be alone with her.

"Oh yeah, my mom's getting me in the morning, I'm staying," Riley lies, Lucas nods hesitantly and swings his bag around his shoulder. 

"Well, okay then, I'll talk you later Maya," He says kissing her cheek, Maya tenses up and he steps away waving to Riley. "Bye Riley!"

"Bye Lucas!" She calls out, he leaves and once they hear the front door close, Maya sighs in relief. "So is there anything else you haven't told me yet?" Riley asks turning to her, Maya laughs and gets up grabbing her towel.

"Don't worry about that, go call your mom and tell her you're staying, we have a lot to talk about," Maya says, Riley furrows her eyebrows but is left outside by herself. I should've took the ride.

.....

"All done in here?" Riley hears, she looks up to see Maya standing there in the doorway still in that damn bathing suit. Riley was hoping her mother would've said no, but it seems like the world is frequently working against her nowadays. She nods and Maya walks into the room with a fresh dry towel. "Here, you can shower in our bathroom, pajamas are in the dresser," Maya says, she walks out of the room with a towel of her own, probably to the second bathroom to shower. Riley gets off the bed and opens up the drawers for some of Maya's looser clothing. She grabs a pair of shorts and a larger t-shirt before walking into the bathroom and starting the warm shower.

Maybe if I go out feet first, I can leave through the window. Riley undresses herself and begins to shower and soak in the warm water. She takes her time, a little longer than usual, but she just didn't understand why Maya was set on her staying over. What did it matter? And why'd she lie about it? Finally, Riley's done and steps out with her hair twisted in the towel, she walks into Maya's room to find her only wrapped in a towel searching through her drawers. Turn around, turn around, and walk away.

Finally listening to her instinct, she walks away without a sound and makes her way down the stairs. She wishes Shawn or Katy were here, because Maya sure as hell wouldn't be walking around the house like that if they were. Unfortunately, they were on vacation, and Maya declined the trip with them to spend this last summer with her friends, unfortunately. Riley goes back outside to let her clothes dry before the sun completely went down, and steps back inside to see Maya coming down the stairs.

"Hey Riley! Are you coming?"


	3. S P A R K L E

"Your hands are always so warm," Maya mumbles. Currently, they're on the floor of Maya's bathroom doing each other's nails. Riley smiles and shakes her head.

"No, I just think your hands are cold," She responds, which in fact was more likely. Maya's hands were so small in hers, pale, small, and bony, of course they were always cold. Riley was always gentle when it came to Maya, she painted Maya's nails a nice light blue, they'd go well with her eyes. 

"I miss this," Maya says quietly, Riley chooses to ignore her, this is suppose to be happy and fun, she doesn't want to talk about their problems. Maya looked up at Riley, waiting for a response but is instead with silence. "Don't you?" Riley exhales through her nose before moving onto the other hand.

"I love spending time with you Maya, so yes, of course I do." She answers.

"So why don't you ever come around? Or at least let me come over?"

"...Sometimes I really am just busy, it's not your fault,"

"But it FEELS like it is! I mean I can't remember the last time you slept over! And we used to have sleepovers every weekend!" Riley huffed and looked up sternly.

"Can I just finish your nails, please?" She asks, she was clearly irritated and didn't want to talk about it.

"...Fine," Maya went quiet and continued watching Riley apply the nail polish. Riley felt cornered, what was she supposed to say? I hate your boyfriend, and I'm in love with you. Yeah, real simple. When the doorbell rang, Maya stood up to look out the bathroom window, "It's the pizza guy."

"I'll get it," Riley says getting up, she puts the nail polish down and walks out of the room. Since they were a lot older, Maya would get hit on and flirted with a lot, even when Lucas was around. Maya had tiny black shorts on and a loose white shirt, Riley wanted to keep this image to herself. Riley went down the stairs and grabbed the box from the guy before handing over the tip, she closed the door quickly and put the box on the table.

"Hey, you okay?" Maya asks walking down, Riley nods and attempts to walk away only for Maya to hug her tightly.

"Don't be mad at me!" She whines, Riley freezes and Maya pouts. "Please! Forget I brought it up, please?" Riley relaxes and smiles.

"Okay Maya," She says softly. Maya releases her and grabs soda from the fridge, they sit at the table and begin eating the pizza.

"Promise me, we'll try to do this more?" Maya asks, calmly, Riley looks up and nods.

"Okay, I promise," She agrees, after eating for a bit and scrolling through their phones, they went back upstairs. Maya connected her phone to her speaker and began playing music.

"Come dance with me," Maya says extending her arms. Riley stared in confusion and began giggling.

"What?"

"Come on, remember when you used dance wildly for hours?"

"That was years ago," Riley says laughing harder.

"So? Come on, I want to dance," She urges.

"You're so weird," They interlock their fingers and begin dancing around the room. Riley twirls Maya around a couple of times before pulling her back in. As she held Maya in her arms, she practically fell in love all over again. The way Maya just looked at her made Riley weak, she loved when Maya stared at with that shimmer in her eyes. The happiness, that little glimmer in her expression. Riley felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

Late at night, they laid together in bed, just talking in the darkness. Maya was right, Riley had missed this, a lot. When Maya spoke to her, it was like the world stopped, she could only focus on the sound of her voice.

"We'll be neighbors, and we can share a wedding," Maya whispers, Riley giggled tiredly before turning her head.

"I think you're losing it Maya," She whispered back.

"I'm telling you the truth, we're gonna be together forever, you can't get rid of me that easily. We'll even have kids at the same time so they can be friends too,"

"Best friends?"

"Yes! Best friends, that way we can still see each other everyday,"

"Okay Maya,"

"Promise me you won't ever leave my side?" Maya asks lifting her pinkie, Riley sighs and locks their pinkies.

"I promise."

Soon after, basking in the warmth of each other, they fell asleep. It had been a while since they've done this, Maya hugging her tightly and Riley keeping her safe. To Riley, this was heaven, a summer night, holding onto Maya like her life depended on it.

....

The following morning, she woke up first, but refused to move. She didn't want to disturb or wake up Maya, she looked so gorgeous in the morning. The sunlight seeping through the curtains only further enchanted Riley, Maya looked like she was glowing. Maya's face was so relaxed, Riley could point out all the details she loved so much.

Slowly, Riley released her only to cup her face, she ran her thumbs underneath Maya's eyes and down to her chin. I'm so pathetic. Riley let her go once more before turning over, I hate myself. Missing the warmth, Maya unconsciously scooted closer and buried her face into Riley's neck. "Stop moving," She mumbled. Riley huffed and continued staring at the wall. I'm losing this fight, aren't I?

Once Maya had finally woken up, the two went downstairs to eat breakfast when suddenly the doorbell rang. They looked at each other confused before Maya went for the door, peeked and instantly relaxed. "Oh, it's just Lucas," She says, of course it is. She opens the door and he's standing there with a big smile on his face. 

"Good morning," He says happily.

"Morning baby," Maya says pecking his lips.

"I brought you guys coffee," He says. In his hands is a drink carrier and a small paper bag.

"Now you're talking," Maya mumbles, she quickly takes her drink and waddles off to the kitchen for cereal. 

"Riley! I got your favorite!" He exclaims, I could've gotten Maya coffee too. He hands her the final cup and paper bag. "I even got your cake pop,"

Riley bit the inside of her cheek as she took it out of the bag, I'm such an ass. He's so nice to me and I'm always so rude. Riley plastered on a smile and looked up, "Thank you Lucas." He smiles and nods walking past her. The three sat at the table, Riley and Maya eating cereal, while Lucas finished off last night's pizza. 

It was quiet for the most part before Lucas looked up from his plate, "Thought about going for a drive later tonight, you guys want to come?" Instantly, Maya beamed and nodded.

"Of course," She turned to Riley hesitantly and tilted her head, "Do you want come too?"

Riley paused for a moment before answering, I'm going to win this fight. "Yes, I'd love to."


End file.
